Chapter 453 Someone has taken a fancy to our Chengmao

"How much food do we have now?"

In the general's mansion, Yang Zhengshan asked Zhu Yuan, the chief official of the Finance and Grain Department.

"My Lord, there are currently 2.8 million shi of grain stored in the warehouse!" Zhu Yuan said, following behind Yang Zhengshan.

As Yang Zhengshan walked towards the main hall, he continued to ask, "How much money do we have now?"

"The amount of silver I borrowed from the money house last month was less than 300,000 taels!" Zhu Yuan said with some embarrassment.

The General's Mansion had long been in deficit, and not only that, it had already borrowed up to six million in cash from Chongshan Money House.

"Can I continue to borrow from the money house?" Yang Zhengshan frowned.

Zhu Yuan shook his head slightly and said, "This month I can only borrow 300,000 at most!"

Yang Zhengshan had already stipulated that the money borrowed by the General's Office from the money houses could not exceed 60% of the money houses' savings.

In other words, the savings in the money house must reach 500,000 before the General's Office can borrow 300,000 from the money house.

As time went by, Chongshan Money House absorbed less and less savings. Last month, there were nearly one million taels of silver, but this month there may be less than 800,000 taels of silver. In addition, some people may withdraw the deposits, so the amount of silver that can be borrowed is only about 300,000 taels of silver.

"It's still not enough!" Yang Zhengshan shook his head.

Two million eight hundred thousand shi was not much different from the three million shi he had decided on before, but the three million shi of grain were prepared based on one million refugees.

The number of people affected by the disaster this time is as high as tens of millions, and the disaster is quite serious. Perhaps half of the people cannot survive. Even if only one-third of them move to Chongshan Town, the number will exceed one million.

Therefore, three million shi of grain is only the minimum requirement, and Yang Zhengshan still hopes for as much as possible.

"But the price of grain in Jiangnan has risen to 2.8 thousand silver per stone. The grain prices in the Li Sheng Dynasty and the De Sheng Dynasty have also increased a lot. If we continue to purchase, the price may be even higher!" Zhu Yuan said.

Three million shi of grain is not a small amount. Even if it is purchased from three places, it will affect the grain prices in the three places.

Jiangnan is the region with the highest grain production in Dayong, but it still cannot withstand Yang Zhengshan's purchases.

"Keep collecting! Collect as much as you can. The general's mansion only needs to keep 100,000 taels of silver as a reserve." Yang Zhengshan said.

The General's Mansion receives a considerable amount of silver and money every month. Today's glass workshop is a gold mine that can provide the General's Mansion with a steady supply of silver and money.

Yang Zhengshan was not afraid of running out of money, he was only afraid of not having enough food.

"Yes!" Seeing Yang Zhengshan's insistence, Zhu Yuan had no choice but to obey the order.

When Yang Zhengshan walked into the main hall, Pang Tang was already waiting for him there.

"Pangda people!"

"Master Hou!"

The two of them sat down, and Yang Zhengshan went straight to the point and said, "Master Pang, I plan to send people to Liaoyuan and Pingyuan to recruit refugees at the end of this month!"

The drought in Liaodong has reached a very serious level. It is no exaggeration to say that the land is barren for thousands of miles.

Although it is not yet the autumn harvest season, many people are already struggling to make ends meet.

The reason is simple. Severe drought affects not only the harvest in the fields, but also the availability of other food.

Due to the severe drought, the grass and trees withered.

At this time of year in previous years, people could still dig wild vegetables and pick mushrooms to supplement their food shortage.

But this year that is obviously impossible.

Not to mention wild vegetables, even a wild grass can’t be found.

Originally, some people could hold out until the autumn harvest at the end of September, but now they can only hold out until the end of August at most, or even early August before they run out of food.

When food was scarce, the people had no choice but to exchange all their assets for food.

However, the price of grain in Liaodong is skyrocketing now. The price of grain has risen from two taels per stone to six taels per stone.

This is not because someone is driving up food prices, but rather a normal market reaction.

The officials and businessmen led by Zhao Yunxing had no time to drive up grain prices before Ding Qiu and Luo Jinsong caused panic among the people and they had no intention of driving up grain prices anymore.

If they were allowed to drive up the price of grain, it would probably be 16, 18, or even 20 taels per stone.

"Well, we can recruit a group of refugees first. This will be a good way to train the officers so that they won't be in a rush in the end!" Pang Tang said in agreement.

Accepting and resettling refugees is also a troublesome matter.

This time is different from the time of Tenglong Guard. At that time, Tenglong Guard only accepted tens of thousands of refugees, and each hundred households and garrison could resettle them after taking the people away.

With the help of the old military households, the refugees will be able to quickly integrate into the Tenglong Guard.

This time, Chongshan Town is accepting and settling refugees to allow them to build a new home, and the number of refugees may exceed one million.

It can be said that this is an extremely huge task, which requires mobilizing almost all government offices in Chongshan Town.

"I think so too. Besides, it's only July now. The first batch of refugees will need some time to adapt. The most difficult ones are the refugees who come after winter!" Yang Zhengshan said helplessly.

It is difficult to leave one's hometown. Unless people are at their wit's end, it is difficult for them to choose to move away from their hometown.

In fact, it is best to move to Chongshan Town at this time. They will have some time to adapt and prepare before winter.

But this is obviously impossible.

As long as there is a glimmer of hope to survive, the people of Liaodong will not easily move to Chongshan Town.

Yang Zhengshan estimates that this migration wave will start in October and continue until after May next year.

"We can only prepare as much as possible!"

Pang Tang was also quite helpless. Matters involving millions of people could not be changed by just a few words.

All they can do is guide, not even force.

Because once it is forced, it may cause more chaos.

The people must not be forced to migrate unless it is the last resort. The two discussed the details in the hall. The governor's office and the county offices in various places will be the main ones to receive the refugees. When the refugees arrive at the resettlement site, they will be managed by the general's office and the various lieutenant generals' offices.

Managing refugees is unintentionally more difficult than receiving them.

In troubled times, important codes should be used.

It is definitely more appropriate to use soldiers with swords and guns to manage the refugees who have nothing than to let officials carry paper and pen.

After seeing Pang Tang off, Yang Zhengshan went to the Engineering Department to inquire about the construction progress of the official roads and villages and towns.

It was not until night fell that Yang Zhengshan returned to the Marquis' Mansion.

In the main courtyard, Yu Qingyi and Ming Zhao were already waiting for him to have dinner.

"Dad!" Ming Zhao called obediently.

"Yeah!" Yang Zhengshan responded, washed up simply, and rubbed Mingzhao's little head.

Dinner had already been prepared. When Yu Qingyi saw Yang Zhengshan coming back, she immediately asked Qingxia and Hongyun to serve the dishes.

"In the afternoon, the manager from Ningyuan Prefecture came back and said that the farm in Ningyuan Prefecture will have no production this year!" Yu Qingyi said while serving rice to Yang Zhengshan.

"What about Jing'an Prefecture?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

"The production will be reduced, but we should still be able to harvest some!" said Yu Qingyi.

The Yang family has many farms in Liaoyuan Province, including in Jing'an Prefecture, Ningyuan Prefecture, Qinghua Prefecture, and Liao'an Prefecture.

Yang Zhengshan thought for a moment and said, "Tell everyone that the rent for all villages in Liaoyuan will be waived this year. Life will be a little difficult, but it won't be so bad that everyone can't survive!"

Most of the Yang family's farms were cultivated by tenants and tenant farmers.

Tenant servants were slaves who sold themselves to the Yang family, and tenant farmers were the people who rented the Yang family’s land.

Tenant farmers made up the majority of the people, and tenant servants were mainly responsible for managing the farm.

"What about the farms in Ningyuan Prefecture? There is almost no production there. Even if the rent is waived, they will probably find it difficult to survive!" Yu Qingyi said with some pity.

Yang Zhengshan said nonchalantly, "Didn't Mingzhi buy a few farms in Fuzhou? Let them move to Fuzhou. Leave the farm in Ningyuan idle for now, and recruit a group of tenants tomorrow."

There are only about a hundred households in a village. These people have been renting fields from the Yang family for many years. It is easy for the Yang family to let them move, as they just need to exempt them from rent for two years.

Compared with the millions of refugees in Liaodong, these hundreds of households are really a small matter.

The drought in Liaoyuan was slightly worse than that in Pingyuan. Prefectures like Liao'an, Tenglongwei, Qinghua and Jing'an were less affected and did not suffer a total loss of harvest.

The areas most severely affected by the drought are actually the southwestern part of Liaoyuan and the central and northern parts of Pingyuan. The southern part of Pingyuan and Jizhou will be much less affected.

"Okay! I'll arrange it tomorrow!" Yu Qingyi said while eating.

There aren't so many rules when a couple eats together, and it's normal for them to chat while eating. In fact, even when the Yang family eats together in the main courtyard, there aren't so many rules. They're just divided into two tables for men and women.

"By the way, there is one more thing. Yunxue sent me a letter!" Yu Qingyi thought of Yunxue's letter again.

"What does the letter say?"

Yu Qingyi smiled and said, "Someone has taken a fancy to our Chengmao and went to Yunxue to get the information!"

Yang Zhengshan picked up a piece of mutton for Ming Zhao and asked in surprise, "Which one?"

Chengmao is only two years younger than Chengye. He is exactly fifteen years old this year, so it is time to put the marriage matter on the agenda.

Not only Chengmao, but also Wanqing. Yang Wanqing is also fourteen years old this year.

You can arrange your marriage now and then get married when you turn sixteen.

"Haichang Marquis' Mansion!" Yu Qingyi said.

"Haichang Marquis' Mansion?" Yang Zhengshan was even more stunned. "Xue Ping's sister or niece?"

Xue Ping is the youngest son of Haichangbo Xue Chang'an. Haichangbo has three legitimate sons, and Xue Ping is the youngest one. His eldest son Xue Feng is almost forty years old now.

However, Yang Zhengshan really didn't know whether Xue Changan had a daughter.

"My niece is the eldest granddaughter of the Marquis of Haichang! Some time ago, Marquis Haichang's wife went to visit Yunxue. Although she didn't say it explicitly, her meaning was very clear!" Yu Qingyi said.

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly.

Because of Xue Ping's relationship with Tenglongwei, the Yang family and the Haichang Earl's Mansion have some intersections.

Haichangbo Xue Chang'an has always been the commander of Jinhaiwei, and Jinhaiwei is the navy closest to Kyoto.

When Tenglongwei was developing maritime trade, Haichangbo Mansion also participated. They mainly operated the route from Kyoto to Tenglongwei.

And now Xue Ping is still in Tenglong Vanguard, serving as the commander-in-chief and Yu Tonghai's deputy.

The Haichang Marquis's Mansion was not outstanding in the circle of nobles. First of all, Xue Chang'an's actual position was not high. He was just a commander of a guard, and that was in the Jinhai Guard.

Secondly, Haichang Earl is now only a second-class earl, which means that the next generation of Haichang Earl will become a third-class earl, and there will be no title for the next generation.

If the next two generations do not gain enough military merits to be promoted to a higher title, there will be no Haichang Earl's Mansion in Dayong in the future.

Compared with the current Yang family, the Haichang Marquis's Mansion is somewhat out of reach.

Even though Yang Chengmao did not inherit the title, he was still not comparable to the ordinary children of nobles.

Don’t forget that Yang Zhengshan is now a congenital warrior.

However, Yang Zhengshan was not a person who paid attention to the matching of family backgrounds. He thought about it and said, "Talk to Mingzhi about this and ask him what he thinks!"

Yang Chengmao's marriage has to be decided by Yang Mingzhi. After all, Yang Mingzhi is Yang Chengmao's biological father, and Yang Chengmao is also Yang Mingzhi's eldest son. They can help with this matter, but it is best not to make the decision at will.

Cheng Mao is different from Cheng Ye. Cheng Ye is the heir to the Marquis' Mansion. Besides, Yang Mingcheng is a bit simple-minded, so there is no problem for Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi to make the decision.

But Yang Mingzhi is a man of his own ideas. In order to avoid any rift between them, this matter must be done through Yang Mingzhi.

"Okay, I'll tell Li first tomorrow and then send someone to ask Mingzhi!" Yu Qingyi agreed.

(End of this chapter)